Team Liquid Wins Dota 2’s $24 Million The International Tournament

The International is the most exciting time of year for Dota 2 fans – a ten day-long odyssey that tests the strength of the game’s greatest players and squads that comes in early August each year. The tournament, which is almost entirely funded by the Dota 2 community, has seen many great stories over the years, including an Evil Geniuses win that proved North American organizations had a place in a scene often dominated by European and Chinese teams.

Now, however, one of eSports’ most iconic franchises has claimed Dota 2‘s biggest prize, as Team Liquid emerged as the winning side of The International 7, taking home over $10 million USD in prize money for its victory. Team Liquid defeated China’s Newbee in the Grand Finals of The International 7 today, sweeping the second place finishers aside in a dominating 3-0 series victory.

For as easy as Team Liquid might have made it look toward the end of The International 7, however, the journey to the Grand Finals was incredibly difficult. Liquid entered the Losers’ Bracket of the tournament early, resulting in a staggering number of elimination matches on the way to the Grand Finals. In fact, Liquid is the first squad to ever enter the Losers’ Bracket after the first round of Winners’ Bracket play and go the distance to win The International.

It has been a record-setting day for Liquid in many respects, as the team also became the first squad to ever win a Grand Finals at The International in a sweep. The team, buoyed by captain KuroKy’s incredible drafting skills and an in-form MinD_ContRoL, showcased just what the new patch for Dota 2 is capable of producing, exhibiting a number of early game compositions as well as a few come-from-behind victories.

It’s also another feather in the cap for Dota 2 as an eSport, as the finals of The International 7 garnered over 4.7 million worldwide viewers. With eSports at the Olympics slowly looking to become a reality soon, these kinds of tournaments can only add to the legitimacy of the burgeoning competitive video game scene, and Dota 2‘s baffling, crowdfunded yearly prize pool and thrilling play appear to make it a frontrunner for the future of eSports.

Congratulations to Team Liquid for a breath-taking performance at The International 7!